A Feature List isnt a Marketing Plan
Which came first, the feature list or the marketing plan? A lot of great software begins without a thought to marketing. That is, a software developer spends his wee hours creating a great utility without a thought beyond solving a simple problem in an elegant way. But its also the way bad habits start.
A great number of new vendors that are run by engineers make this mistake. I believe this comes about because in many organizations, the feature list is the first thing the engineer sees, other than a rather sketchy vision statement shared over coffee and donuts. Therefore, it all starts with the feature list, right? Create a feature list, then figure out a way to sell the features. Huh?
Lets go back to Mr Version 1.0 Shareware Guy. He solved a simple problem in an elegant way. He implicitly identified a customer and their real needs, then he delivered a solution. He created a mini-marketing plan, all in his head, if only to serve the needs of himself or a specific group of early adopters.
Then it can all go wrong. Delivering solutions only for your own needs or for a group of early adopters rarely generates revenues to sustain and grow a business, but many vendors trip themselves up by just doing that. They create a feature list that includes:
The result is a feature list that delivers solutions for no one in particular. From a marketing perspective, it means you’ve made a product that is usable by many but may not provide enough solution to get any particular type of customer to buy.
The moral of the story is simple: create a feature list as a result of a marketing plan, not the other way around.